PSY 120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Behavioural Genetics, Human Genome, Sexual Selection
Document Summary
Evolutionary psychology: looks for commonalities in human behaviour, cognition, emotion. Behavioural genetics: loks for how genes interact w/ environments to create individual differences. Misleading dichotomy: nature vs nurture=outdated, genes affect experiences, experiences affect gene expression (epigenetics) Dna: molecule, stores genetic info on chromosomes in cell uclei, composed of 4 chemical bases (nucleotides, a,t,g,c, bases are arranged on complimentary base pairs. Gene: section of chromosome, codes for particular protein, almost everything has genetic basis, but not a gene for that. Innate human characteristics (page 80: infant reflexes, interest in novelty, desire to explore/manipulate objects, impulse to play and fool around, basic cognitive skills (mental modules?) Male vs female: predict how male vs female differ. Criticisms of sex-difference theory: mating behaviour varies widely across cultures, actual behaviour does not always match stereotypes, research samples not always representative, significant evolutionary changes could have occurred since pleistocene. Social darwinism: idea that wealthy and successful are more reproductively fit than others.
